After a month long outing in western Colorado and southern Utah, we find the fatal flaws in our '23 Opus Air Lite. Check out our real world, on the 'epic' spot review at the link below.. • Opus Lite in the Windy...
We paid $23,000 new from a dealer in 2022. We sold it back to the place we got it - for $15,000. I just looked, and it's been sitting there for about a year at $18,995. I know, because I painted the front of the frame black and took off the big Opus stickers on the side. Collier RV in Rockford, IL. You made my day, I haven't looked to see if it was still there since we sold it..
Thanks man for that fantastic video! As it is not a very often seen trailer, it is difficult to find real tests. But it´s not the first time that I read comments like "it seems that the manufacturer never travel with this"...and it fits to your video...Sad to see because I really love the idea of the OPUS and from the first view it looks so cool....and it costs as much as a big caravan. Sorry that you made that experience but thanks for sharing. Anyway, I hope you can enjoy the holidays somehow.
It seems some of the issues you mentioned are not issues on their higher end models but something to definitely look at. The leaking is a big concern. It sounds like you do some serious offroad, im looking for something more for light offroad and sticking around for a few days. Sounds like a patriot camper or something similar would fit your style better. Thanks for the honest review. Did you find something that suits you?
@Jacob-rn From what I've read, the initial run of the Opus line was great. It was then outsourced to China and they slapped them together leaving the dealerships to fix many of the problems. Especially the water and dust ingress along all the seals while closed. We traded the Opus Lite in for a Mission Overland Summit before we even got home from that trip. Realizing we were going places levels above what the Lite was built to handle, it was an easy choice. If you take look at our channel, you can see the Summit in action - its streets ahead of the feeble Opus Lite. Pricy for some, sure, but its Canadian made, backed by a decent warranty and built for the hard shit.
@thistediouspath thank you for the heads up. I'm sorry for not checking your channel first. I will definitely check out some of your videos on the mission. It looks like a good option.
Thanks mate, I've been eyeing off an Opus for years purely for an easier set up time but after watching your review I'll look at another option. Thanks for your honest thoughts and thorough opinion
And I held back some. I was hung over and weary from a month on the road. This thing was sold before we even got back to our cabin. There is another guy in Australia on RU-vid that goes through a few of the same problems and worse but he managed to get them resolved. We don't have time for repeated headaches so, yeah, its gone. And really, how many 6mo/1yr review videos are there? Its just Set ups and showcases.
With my OP2, I had to season the canvis before I used it. This required setting up the unit and spraying the entire canvis with water, letting it dry completely, then repeat the process 2 more times. I've not had an issue with water leaks. Did you buy it from a dealer? If so, it's under warranty for 2 years.
I did buy it from a dealer. We didn't really have any leaks when it was set up tbh, just when it was folded up. We really didn't have time to let it sit at a shop for the entirety of spring into the summer. Besides, we fell out of love with it for many reasons.
Thanks for the honest review. It has really opened my eyes up to the reality of owning a forward fold camper trailer. Do you intend to purchase another trailer or RV?
We traded the Opus Lite in for a new, off the lot, 2022 Mission Overland Summit. We got a decent deal on it compared to the '23, though still took a bath on the trade in. We love it so far. Handles just as good on trail as the Lite and is great on the pavement. Its all aluminum and air tight. We haven't had it in pouring 3-day rain yet but it did fine with a few showers and some rain on the road. The price point is substantially higher but there are many reasons why. Ill have a review up sometime after the trip we are on.
Dude, please open fully that canvas door! Do you really know how to use that trailer? And when it comes to the wind resistance, it is very good if you hook up canvas properly.
I'm not really sure what you're trying to say? Do you have hands-on experience with the '23 Opus Lite? If so, I encourage you to make a video showing it on a cliff face 2500ft up with 20-30mph winds and how the door works.. check the 14:20 min mark. If you watched the full vid, I noted I wasn't about to set it up fully in the drive way of my cabin. It was sold and I was cleaning it out. Either way, man, to each their own. If you enjoy the tent on wheels get out there and explore. You're past the review prosses.
We bought a 2022 OP Lite in September 2022. It leaked like a sieve. When we would open it up, it was like a mini swimming pool inside and the storage compartments were always soaking wet. We had horrible mold and delaminating issues as a result. After 11 months of warranty issues with Purple Line, they just replaced ours with a new 2023. We took it out once so far for 3 nights, with mixed results, but I am not sure I want to keep this trailer long term either. There are definitely major flaws with the design that need to be worked out.
This right here. Unfortunately, I don't think the '23 will fare much better. Ours didn't leak much in the 5 or 6 storms while we camped. Most of the leaking issues we encountered were in transit, both river crossings and driving through rain storms. Maybe you can trade it in on something with out taking too much of a hit and find something that makes you happy again. It was a difficult decision for us to lose out on thousands of dollars to get away from the Lite - but we came away much more confident and have a renewed excitement with our new Summit. Good Luck!
We went with the Mission Overland Summit. It's a right around the same price as the Patriot line up and is a lot less work to use. We absolutely love our Summit so far and plan to have a review video up soon. Good luck finding what suits you best!
That one looks interesting. I will be looking forward to your review of it. We will be towing with one of our Broncos for now. I hope to end up with the Bronco truck they say is coming out in 2025. @@thistediouspath
Thank you for the honest review. Almost pulled the trigger on an Opus OP4 because I love the way they look and they have an Orange option that would match our Punk'n Orange Jeep Wrangler which I planned to tow with, but there are some serious design flaws based on your review. Back to the drawing board, thanks again!
@DeeperImageAutomotive Glad we could help. If you have a few bucks to throw around there are a lot of great options out there. Maybe take a look at our Mission Overland Summit review. You can get it wrapped in any color you want from the factory!
Thanks so much for going to the trouble to share your experience. I thought this would be a good way to go. I could spend a grand on a deluxe tent and have none of these problems. I thought I was in, not anymore.
Dang this sucks! Sorry for such an investment and it leaks. Think what potentially made the opus interesting for me was heat and ac even though that’s not necessary but it’s a tent. Probably half cost of patriot and I also came across xpedition voyager which seems interesting. Below could be used as a hangout space and up could be your bed in tent. What did you end up getting? Update; mission overland lol. I’ll check it out
@saleen692 Yeah, I was bummed out about it, too. It opened our eyes to what marketing and perceived product value can do. I'm sure the first campers they were making were leak proof and sturdier. Hence the fire hose and helicopter videos. Then they started pumping them out of a factory in China and product quality went down. I think they thought they'd save money by having the RV service centers slap band aids on them till the owners got tired of it and sold them. That's why they're so cheap now. Oh well, they can have their corner of the market. We just figured we'd try and tell as many people as possible so they don't make the same mistake we did. Hey, good luck finding something that suits you! All the trailers you listed above will blow the Opus away. Excuse the pun..
@@thistediouspath super dooper crazy expensive stuff has gotten. My wife’s 27’ camper is like a quarter of the cost compared to some of these overland trailers. Our camper can’t even be hauled anymore though, the outerbanks completely destroys them. Our stabilizers are dust for example and my sisters new camper already getting rust underneath after 1 yr. She’s been spraying mystery oil now underneath
The trend of high end campers having a million clasps, slide trays, flippy out parts, more latches, couple more zillion canvas pop outs, awnings, loops, fasteners etc. All stuff that takes manipulation every time you use it, stuff that leaks and rattles loose. Cool vs practical were two very different concepts with the overlander high priced Chinese imported campers😆. The Opus popups were bulk buy china trailers at $12,000. 3-4 in a container shipped to CA $1000 ish per trailer shipping, import fees $8000 ish. These were being advertised for nearly $40,000 during COVID😆
This is all correct. We realized it was another Chinese import with the Opus name slapped on the side soon after we sold it. I felt a bit dupped, because no where in the 3ish years of researching this trailer - and others - did we see it listed anywhere else or under another name. Then we found it w/o decals or branding on Ali Baba for like 12k with 4k shipping/import. Ah well, its gone now and we are more than happy with our new MO Summit.
Half of the complaints are flaws and i fully agree but the other 50% are complaints just for the sake of it, complaints because feel like a tent on a trailer it's ridiculous...it is a bloody tent on a trailer mate...if you want a caravan buy a caravan
How can something so tough looking be full of shit? I watched Opus youtube channel and was duped into thinking this is what I wanted, but wanted to find an honest review. Thank you, all the way from the Mile High State.
Right? From what I've read, they were at one time, tough and rugged. Then, they started producing them in another country. I'm sure you can guess where.. *edit - Be sure to check out our other real world video on the Opus Lite.
LMAO...You bought it used....its a tent trailer.. jesus, buy a school bus if you can't figure out how to exit the door. Set it up properly per the manufacture, and then review it. Always zip the front door before you inflate! Your pump pressure is not set to specs - its obviously underinflated by 10% or more. Tighten your 4 corner straps and the tent bottom edge stiffens up and nothing will get in. These things aren't perfect like any other trailer, but if you follow opening up procedure from the manufacturer, you'd solve over 80% of your complaints. This is a hit piece. You can't set up everything wrong and then complain about it. Haha, what a mess.
LMAO...You bought it used... Incorrect. We bought it new, from a dealer, off the showroom floor. It's a 2023 year model. Set it up properly We did. Many times. You may have missed the part in the video where I said I wasn't setting it up all the way, as I was just cleaning it out to trade in and decided last minute to make a video. There's a plethora of vids out there on how to set it up. A 'how-to' video wasn't my intention. My intention was to bring to light the downsides of this trailer - as all I've seen ARE set up vids and people using it for the first time at a campground in perfect weather.. This was an exit review. We have a few other videos on this channel where you can see it fully deployed and set up correctly. This is a hit piece. Why do you think so? Am I a competing camper trailer manufacturer or news organization with competing advertisers? Weird.. Good luck to you and we hope your adventures with the Lite are enjoyable.
Ouch! Don't they have helicopters hovering over them and a firefighter hosing it down in their promotional videos? Well, I guess BigMac's look great in the commercials too!
